Farewell
by DeathRace6000
Summary: It was there that they met again; one blissfully unaware, and the other assaulted by memory.


_It was there that they met again; one blissfully unaware, and the other assaulted by memory._

To clear things up before you read, as Sarah grew up, she slowly lost her memories of her time in the Labyrinth and everyone she met. It's my first Labyrinth fic, so I hope you enjoy it!

**Farewell**

It was there that Sarah found herself like she often did many a time. A quaint little cafe on the corner made for the perfect place to develop her latest masterpiece. She always chose the table closest to the street side, for the low purr and hum of the passing cars somehow made for the soothing soundtrack to her writing. The time was six o clock, and the autumn sun was slowly descending below the horizon, ready to make way for its lunar twin, the Moon. The beautiful orange and yellow hues it cast upon the city delighted Sarah's visual senses, stirring up a certain feeling within her, and evoking creativity from the deepest pit of her mind.

Or perhaps it was just the coffee, fresh and steaming in the ceramic mug her fingers were loosely curled around.

Whatever it was, the young woman was thankful, for a newfound rush of creativity was just what she sought. Recently, she had taken up a position as the theatre teacher at the local high school, and rather than use the same plays as most, she chose a more original, yet heavily tasking route; writing her own material. Yes, it was all worth it in the end, for the pieces her mind spawned were ingenious and garnered the attention and praise of even the harshest critic, but in order to achieve such results, she had to put in countless hours of work.

"Enter the Goblin King..." she muttered to herself, while her fingers rapidly typed away.

In her adolescent years, Sarah had been quite the adamant fan of fantasy. She loved whimsical worlds, fantastical creatures, and like any girl, handsome princes. But that third item had always been eclipsed by something else, something much _darker. _She could never quite place her finger on it, but the stereotypical knight in shining armor had never truly tickled her fancy. Sarah loved depth, which those very princes lacked, she loved danger, she loved that _seductive _air that every male villain seemed to have.

It was that very fascination that had spawned this piece. A play in which the villain emerged victorious was sure to add that desired spice that she craved.

Her grip tightened on the coffee mug as she finished her sentence, but just as she was about to take a sip, a figure out of the corner of her eye stole her attention.

Rare was it for a man to capture Sarah's eye, but this one did it with such astounding ease. He stood tall, much taller than she, and was quite slim and well built, which could be easily observed through the thin poet's shirt he wore and a pair of slim-fitting slacks. His hair was platinum blonde and caught the sunlight in such a way that it looked like fine-spun gold. Heterochromatic eyes stared at her with subtle warmth and a trace of something else (a little bit of mischievousness perhaps?).

"Why hello there," the stranger greeted in a very affable manner. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

The normally well-spoken women was at a simple loss for words. Her mind drew a blank, still holding the coffee mug to where it hovered just an inch above the table top. She peered over the rims of her thick-framed glasses, and mouth slightly agape, finally found the courage within her to nod and make a slight welcoming motion with her hand.

If the man noticed her flustered state, he heeded it no attention, and simply pulled out the chair opposite from her, sitting in it and leaning back to get comfortable. He set his own half-consumed mug of coffee on the table, and offered her another cordial smile, which she lamely returned with one of her own.

"I presume you have a name Miss..."

"Sarah." She supplied. "And you are?"

He chuckled lightly as if she had said something humorous, confusing her greatly.

"Jareth." He said.

A cord of familiarity struck within Sarah, though she was unsure as to why. His name was so odd that she was almost certain she would've remembered it had she heard it before. And his appearance...well, that could speak for itself. Yet, there was something about him that stirred something within her. His presence felt familiar, safe even, but at the same time something in the dark depths of her mind told her that there was more to this man than met the eye, and that she should be weary.

Perhaps it was his effortless charm, or that stunning smile, for the next thing she knew, Sarah found herself speaking to him again.

"Are you writing something?" Jareth asked.

"Ah, yes," replied Sarah with a light nervous laugh. "Just a script for a play."

He raised a thin eyebrow in curiosity, and propped his chin up using the back of his hand.

"Oh? A writer are you?"

"More like a teacher. I enjoy creating my own material."

Her words came so easily, that she herself was surprised. Yes, Sarah was friendly and sincere when she needed to be, but it was uncharacteristic of her to open up to random strangers. Yet here she was chatting with this man, Jareth, as if they were old friends. There was a small part of her that thought (and hoped) that they were. Old friends who had just forgotten one another. The idea was plausible, wasn't it?

_About as plausible as the Goblin King, _she thought bitterly to herself.

If only Sarah knew how her words rang true.

On the opposite side of the table, the simple man she knew as Jareth carried with him a larger title. He was the very Goblin King she had so easily dismissed as fiction within her mind.

There was a part of the great Goblin King that yearned for the inner child within her to wake up, see him for what he truly was, and acknowledge him as more than a simple human. At the same time, another part, a much more prevalent facet of himself relished in the ineffably warm sensation her kindness brought with it.

That was the part of himself that won out; the part that kept him quiet.

Even with the painful memories of her, a ripe girl of sixteen standing before him with that look of determination and speaking that dreaded line, overtaking his mind, he still found the will to present her with an unwavering smile as she chatted away about the plot of her play.

Everything played out as the original Labyrinth had from her description, which caused mixed feelings to settle upon his shoulders. Perhaps it was better if everything remained as it should. At least that way, he knew the ending well and would be met with no surprises. But that thought left a sour, bitter taste on his tongue.

"In the beginning, I had planned for things to go like that, seeing as though the audience loves a classic good prevails story. However, the more I got to thinking, I decided to go with a little different route."

Jareth's ears perked up.

Sarah reached for her coffee mug and took a quick sip before typing a quick sentence on her laptop.

"What if the heroine were to fall in love with the villain? What if for once..." she paused for dramatic effect, a small grin poking at the corners of her lips. "...the villain was to prevail?"

_Yes, _Jareth thought. _Yes!_

That little piece of him that desired her to remember hoped and pleaded with the higher powers that her words would come true. If things had only played out that way...

"It's definitely a risky decision, but I think my students will deliver it in such a way that the audience will love it."

"I like the idea." He interjected. "That makes at least one audience member."

Her genuine smile that he had never seen before was enough to make his head spin. It was stunning, brilliant, and was becoming of the beautiful Sarah Williams. Though she had aged, he could still see that glimmer of her younger self within, and that made everything seem worth it. The memories were still there, still a fresh wound, but that one simple smile melted away his pain if only for a little while.

"Would you look at the time!" Sarah mused, and gently closed the lid of her laptop. "I have to go get dinner started at home. Perhaps we can meet here tomorrow again?"

Jareth forced a smile. "Of course. Tomorrow it is."

She hastily gathered her things and finished the last of her coffee, parting with a small wave and farewell. He remained at the table for a long while after she left, still staring at the spot she had sat in and soaking in the last lingering traces of her, for her knew that his words were empty and full of lies.

Jareth had no intention of returning to see Sarah again.

This was his final goodbye.

Oh had it been so sweet.

**End**

Thanks for reading! Would you kindly review?


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